23 January 2008

The Commonwealth Bank has responded to the flood crisis in Central Queensland by activating its special emergency assistance package to assist people affected by the disaster.

"The Commonwealth Bank is concerned at the impact of the flooding on families, farmers and business people in particular in the towns of Emerald, Longreach and Charleville," said the Bank’s Group Executive Retail Banking Services, Ross McEwan.

"We’ve put special arrangements in place for our customers and our staff are ready to assist them promptly with their financial concerns and enquiries."

Key features of the Bank’s special assistance package include:

expediting claims to CommInsure for customers seeking help through their home and contents insurance,

loan restructuring for business customers with existing loans, without incurring the usual bank establishment fees,

providing additional loans or changes to repayment arrangements for Commonwealth Bank home loan customers who may experience difficulties because of the storms and flooding,

review credit card instalments for customers of good standing and consideration of requests for emergency credit limit increases,

waiving prepayment charges over the next month for affected customers wishing to access term deposits, Commonwealth Investment Bonds and CBFC debentures ahead of the maturity date,

waiving branch service fees where the customer is looking to obtain a service from the Bank as a result of the disaster.

"Our staff will be happy to discuss with customers their overall financial position, any change in repayment arrangements, or to consider options for additional loan funds," Mr McEwan said.